家臣 (jiā chén) — retainer, vassal (of a noble or high official in ancient China)

Definition

A 家臣 was a personal retainer — a servant-administrator bound by loyalty to a single noble lord in ancient China, distinct from state-appointed officials.

noun
retainervassal (of a noble or high official in ancient China)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 家臣。
    Zhè wèi jiā chén duì zhǔ rén fēi cháng zhōng chéng.
    This retainer was extremely loyal to his master.
  • 家臣。
    Gǔ dài guì zú yǒu hěn duō jiā chén bāng máng guǎn lǐ cái chǎn.
    Ancient nobles had many retainers to help manage their property.
  • 家臣。
    Xiǎo shuō lǐ miáo xiě le yí gè zhōng xīn gěng gěng de jiā chén.
    The novel depicts a devoted and loyal retainer.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

家jiāhousehold
臣chénvassal

「家」 as household and 「臣」 as vassal combine to mean a retainer of a noble household.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

臣 is shaped like a man's vertical eye looking downward.

Open 臣 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.